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The World Energy Timeline traces the history of energy from the construction of a 12th century windmill to the power outages that followed Superstorm Sandy.

Daniel Yergin designed the timeline for use by both students and industry experts alike. He says one of the things that most struck him as he was creating it was how certain themes tend to repeat themselves.

“What we’re seeing today with the revolution in shale gas and tight oil, this is part of a larger pattern. We go through these periods in which people think we’re running out of energy, the end is near, and then technology opens new doors. The timeline is really a demonstration of how these new doors of technology and energy use keep opening, and often in surprising and unexpected ways.”